The Snake and the Rose
by hightoppsmadness
Summary: Rose Hawthorne was an artist. All she wanted to do was paint the desert landscape. But after being kidnapped by bandits, the G.I. Joes take her in. She must become one of them. But a certain silent ninja wants nothing more than for her to be safe. Rated M
1. uncultured desert bandits!

**The Snake and the Rose**

a fanfiction by HightoppsMadness

Author's Note: Any and all characters not made by HightoppsMadness are owned by their respective companies, owners, shareholders, or whatever has ownership over everything else. Thank you for choosing a HightoppsMadness fanfiction today.

Rose didn't know how she had gotten into this. She was only here to paint a damn landscape. Bandits with AK47s were definitely not part of the plan. Neither was the group she was traveling with giving her up as payment for safe crossing. Damn people can't be trusted these days. Now she was stuck with these bandits she didn't understand, shivering in the desert night chill, with little chance of any rescue. The only leverage she had was the fact that she had an important ambassador of this country as a best friend. Emil and she went way back, and she hoped to God that he knew to call someone to get her. After all, he was the only one who could know where she disappeared. Her green army T-shirt didn't help her at all as she curled up to save body heat. If the bandits didn't kill her, the cold certainly would.

She was also hungry. The food the bandits ate smelled delicious, but by tradition, or even their own anger at her injuring a few of them, they ate before she could, if she was to eat at all. So she sat in the tent, with a dull ache in her stomach and the back of her head where they clubbed her, cold and hopeless. But she would not admit defeat. She had the stubbornness to overcome a mule, and she would not admit any loss whatsoever. Not until the noose was tight around her neck.

A small noise came from just outside the back of the tent, and a woman with bright red locks quietly entered. Her pale complection helped Rose deduce she wasn't part of this country. She silently made her way to Rose, and crouched down next to her. The woman's army gear was reassuring to Rose, helping her understand that someone was here to rescue her.

"Hello, Rose Hawthorne. I'm Scarlet, and my team is going to help you escape these people. You were said to be taken today, and the ambassador encouraged us to find you. Don't worry, you're safe now."

"Thank God," Rose breathed, and shadows danced across the sides of the tent. They were not the forms of the bandits, as they had similar shapes as Scarlet, only in a male profile. Except for one, which had no army gear, but what looked to be ninja gear. What a ninja was doing in the desert, she had no idea, but frankly, she didn't care.

The army people and the ninja shadows crept up behind the bandits around the fire. Scarlet led Rose away from the scene, but the sound of sliced throats and surprise didn't escape her ears.

"So who are you people anyway?" Rose couldn't help but ask.

Scarlet sighed in a contented way and tugged on a rope dangling from a hovering aircraft, then took hold of Rose's waist, letting the both of them become able to board the craft.

"We are the G.I. Joes."


	2. interviews and options

Rose was held in a small, separate part of the aircraft during the trip. It had no windows, so that she 'wouldn't be able to see where the base was.' She was eager to see those who had saved her, and thank them for their help, but Scarlet insisted that was a bad idea until the governments knew what to do with her. That in itself was not a reassuring thought, but Rose's stubbornness let her ignore that worry. Obviously, they were going to return her home. That would make the most sense. Perhaps a talk so she wouldn't go blabbering about this secret government agency. That made sense.

She felt the ship descending, only it took a long time descending to reach the ground. Either they had been at an incredibly high altitude, or they were in a hole somewhere. The locks on the door turned, and Scarlet's smiling face popped through the opening.

"Hey, girlie, sorry to do this to you, but we need to blindfold you until we get you out of the hanger, okay? We need to be sure you can't find us again if you don't stay here." Scarlet pulled out a thick eye mask, made for sleeping and not to see through.

"I'm sorry, but what do you mean 'if you don't stay here'?" Rose put on the blindfold willingly, but was still uncertain about the whole thing.

"Well, you seem to be emotionally adept at handling high stress situations. You don't seem the least bit upset that you were taken by bandits and saved by a group you know nothing about, and that you might have to stay here and work with us." Scarlet led her down a ramp into an intensely busy hangar. "You just need to have the physical aspects necessary to be a Joe. Trust me, it's fun. Lots of travel, interesting missions, the whole 'secret agent' thing. You get to work on a team, most likely mine, since we found you. And three square meals a day and a suite with only one roommate. You're fine with co-ed, right?"

All the information boggled Rose's mind, and she answered with a weak, "Yeah, no problem."

"Great! We're out of the hangar now," Scarlet said, leading her down much quieter hallways, until they came across a door. "Captain? I've got a potential new recruit."

"Scarlet! Nice to see the mission went well. I assume this is the target?" the man was in fatigues, relaxed in his leather chair, and Rose took in her new surroundings as the blindfold came off.

"Yes sir. This is Rose Hawthorne. Sir, I think this woman has a strong likelihood of being a good addition to the Joes. If you could consider her, sir?" Scarlet sat Rose in a chair on the other side of the oak desk in front of the captain. His strong gaze pierced her with an intense analysis.

"What makes you special, Rose? Why does Scarlet stick up for you?" his smile was gentile, as if he were trying to be a kind of friend, like a favorite teacher or a nice principal.

"She says it's because of my emotional resilience and ability to handle stressful situations, sir." Rose sat up straight as an arrow. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

The captain chuckled. "Permission granted."

"To be honest, sir, I don't know where I am, who any of you are, and what this is all about. All I know is that I'm a painter. I don't know anything about military anything. The closest I get is that my father was a marine, and that is it." Rose tried to appeal to the man's better nature, but by the end of her speech, he looked almost angry.

"Never doubt your own abilities, Ms. Hawthorne. I'm going to give you a choice; whether you take the opportunity or not is no skin off my nose, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Join the Joes, or you can have your memory tampered so you don't even remember where you were going when you were taken." his seriousness struck her. He wasn't joking at all, and she knew it.

Rose mulled it over for a few minutes, then held out her hand to shake his. "I believe I will be joining your ranks, good sir."

He took the hand and gave it a firm shake. "Damn glad of it. Welcome to your crash course in military anything. Scarlet," he looked to the red haired woman. "Give her a roommate and get her some clothes to get started. I'll contact the ambassador to alert him that she'll be joining our ranks, and give him a tragic story to give the press. From now on, Rose, you are deceased. Have fun."


	3. a kiss with a fist is better than none

"Alright, so now that you're one of the gang, you can meet the team you'll be joining, my team." Scarlet led Rose through a series of tunnels she was sure that she would get lost in the moment she tried to find the bathroom. The entered what appeared to be a common room, with exorcize equipment, couches, a table, a bookshelf, and a television, which was off. Music filtered through a radio on the table.

"Hey, looks like we got ourselves a newbie!" a cheerful voice called out, and Rose took in the sight of a muscular African American man with a big smile. "How are you, kid? You had us scared that you wouldn't join!"

"Rose, this is Ripcord." Scarlet gestured towards the handsome man. She then pointed over to two other men, working on a large circuit board. "Those two over there are Breaker and Duke. And that guy over there," she pointed to a man in the corner on a meditation mat. "Is Snake Eyes. He's going to be your roommate for now."

Rose was tempted to go over to him to strike up conversation, but she knew that would be rude while he was meditating. Scarlet dropped her voice and spoke quietly to her. "He has a vow of silence, so if he doesn't say anything to you, that's normal, don't worry. He's a nice guy, trust me." Rose nodded in understanding and turned to her.

"Where are the showers? I would like to get all this sand and grit off me." Rose asked her timidly, and Scarlet chuckled.

"We each have one in the bathrooms in our suites. Here, let me show you where you'll be staying." Scarlet took her hand and started down another tunnel, an offshoot of the larger one that made the common room. At the third door on the right, Scarlet punched in a code. "You'll need the code to enter a room. I only know this one because Snake gave it to me for emergencies. It's five-eight-eight-six."

"That's easy to remember. That's my birthday." the twenty seven year old said proudly. The door slid open to reveal a clean, orderly living room. They stepped inside, and Rose was taken away by how nice the suite was. The walls were painted a cranberry red, and artwork hung on the walls. Light coffee toned furniture made up the room, with black lamps with stained glass shades. It was beautiful and classy, something most of her ex-boyfriends' homes didn't have. This Snake Eyes may be quiet, but he had great taste.

Scarlet took her through the short hallway, looking from door to door until she came across the one bedroom. Again, nicely decorated. One entire wall was a mirror that slid open to be a closet, from which Scarlet pulled out clean clothes. "Sorry for the loose fit, but it's what's here." The black T-shirt was baggy, but it was clean and soft, so Rose was fine with it. The black pants were way too baggy though, so they searched around for a belt. After Rose found one, they found another door, this time to the master bath. It had almond walls with red towels and rugs. On the sink counter sat a cup with a blue toothbrush, handsoap, and a small bonsai tree. The shower had a frosted glass door that slid aside, and the water ran warm.

"Thank you for all your help, Scarlet." Rose felt the need to give her savior gratitude.

"It's no trouble. Just ask Snake Eyes or I if you need any help on anything, okay? Enjoy tonight, because tomorrow, we'll be starting your physical training." with that, Scarlet took her leave.

_Rose felt the hot water beat down her back, and felt the grit and dirt of her desert hostage time wash away along with her stress. Yes, she was going to have a stressful next couple of days, but honestly, it sounded like a great opportunity. The Joes really sounded like a good place to be, and she was eager to start her training. Rose took a look around the inside of the shower, finding only men's soaps and a bottle of shampoo that smelled like pine. Obviously, a single man. She recalled the man meditating in the corner. He seemed mysterious, almost removed from this world, and she wanted to know everything about him, especially if she was going to be his roommate. Did he have any pets? A girlfriend, perhaps? Was he even straight? She couldn't tell from the way he dressed. It stood to reason that gay ninjas and straight ninjas would dress the same, since they're still ninjas. Why didn't anything make any sense?

Rose dismissed her train of thought and started lathering her chestnut hair with the pine shampoo. The scent was pleasant, but it was missing a certain something. Her essence was just too feminine to bring in the proper bouquet. She then used the least manly smelling soap, a bar of ocean breeze scented soap of some kind. If she had any more pine on her, she figured she would smell like a forest.

While Rose was showering, she didn't hear the door to the suite open. Snake Eyes walked in with his usual silent way, carrying strawberry scented shampoo and conditioner, along with some liquid soaps of various girly scents and a loufah. Scarlet had sent him in to bring his new roommate the toiletries, and he found it odd he hadn't run into her yet. Perhaps she was in the bedroom, contemplating how she had gotten herself into this fine mess.

He entered the only bedroom in the suite, and found that she was not there. Instead, he caught sight of steam pouring out from the bathroom door. _How curious, _he thought. It turned out that she would just use his soaps. He debated wether or not he should bring her the new soaps, and decided she would most likely appreciate the assistance. He entered the bathroom, finding it odd that the door was not locked. Was she expecting someone to enter? From the shower door, Snake Eyes saw the silhouette of a woman. She was lathering her body with the soap already inside the shower. From the scent he could tell she was using his favorite, the ocean breeze one. He liked it for its variety. If you use all pine scented soaps, you wind up smelling like Christmas gone bad. And when you wear a suit that covers your face, you know how you smell. The ocean breeze cuts through the pine, giving him his own scent. She was apparently doing the same. But he still had a job to do.

It had admittedly not been one of his brighter moments. How was a naked young woman going to react when a ninja busts into the bathroom to deliver soap? He found out the hard way. Snake Eyes knocked lightly on the shower door, and while he was expecting her to just hold her hand out to receive the soap, she instead punched him so hard it cracked the visor on his mask. He didn't even have the chance to stop her, not that she would stop anyway. Rose was a private person, and she didn't allow anyone to see her naked. Ever.

She realized her mistake as she took in the ninja on the floor, surrounded by frilly soaps. He had only been there to help her out.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry!" she gasped, wrapping a towel around herself. "Do you need help up?"

Snake Eyes shook his head and stood up, gathering the soaps off the floor and handing them to her. Nobody could say he wasn't persistent when it came to a task. She timidly accepted the soaps, and placed them in the shower for next time; she was already clean anyway.

"Thank you, I guess. Do you need a new visor?" she asked, keeping a hand firmly on the towel. He shook his head and handed her clothes to her, which she accepted. He turned to leave, and she called after him. "Are we good?" he nodded and gave her the thumbs up. "Well then I guess I'll see you at dinner." he nodded again and left.

Snake Eyes made it back to the common room to find Ripcord, Breaker, and Duke waiting for him. Scarlet already knew the girl was tough stuff. The men took in Snake's cracked visor, and Ripcord whistled.

"She clocked you good. What'd you do, sneak a peak?" he joked, and Snake shook his head.

"Knowing Snake, I'd say he just tried to give her the soap and she freaked." Duke was always the more sensible one. Snake Eyes nodded, and heaved a silent sigh.

"Did you see how pretty that chick was? That there, my friends, is at least a nine." Breaker was thinking of hot babes and numbers as always.

"No way, dude. That was a seven at best." Ripcord shook his head.

"I'd say an eight on a good day." Duke disagreed. "What do you think, Snake? You saw the most of her."

Snake thought a moment, then held up all his fingers.

"Ten. Alright, I see where you stand. Guys, I think we just found Snake a girl." Ripcord nodded as a plan formulated in his head. Snake didn't like the look of this.


	4. Dammit I guess we can share

_ Snake Eyes sat in his usual place in the shadows when dinner was served at its usual time at nineteen hundred hours. Scarlet had assured him that Rose would be there, but he still wasn't positive she would show. But then, Rose arrived in all her glory, wearing his clothes. He didn't mind, but they definitely didn't fit her. They were far to loose for her to wear. Her slight frame wasn't meant for such baggy clothes. Snake Eyes was pretty slim, but what was there was pure muscle and tendons, not an ounce of fat. From what Snake recalled from his eyefull of Rose, she was slim, but not fit. Her breasts were a good, full size 38C, if his calculations were right, and they usually were. A shame that they would probably shrink once she got into the rigorous workout routines of the Joes. He really liked them. He shook his head to get rid of such dirty thoughts as she approached, blushing prettily across the bridge of her nose.

She sat next to him, silent as he was, and folded her hands in her lap. He could tell from her body language that she was nervous, and apprehensive of talking to him. He lightly touched her arm, and she jumped in surprise. Apparently, she had been off in a world of her own, and she looked at him in embarrassment.

"Sorry, I zoned out. I do that a lot when I have something I want to draw." she explained, and it piqued his curiosity. He took out a pen from his pocket and wrote on a napkin if she knew sign language. "I do. I have a deaf cousin, and we're very close, so I'm quite familiar with it."

'Then can you understand me if I use it?' he signed to her, and she nodded. 'Alright. Can you explain to me what kind of things you draw?'

"I draw landscapes, mostly. I was taken in the desert while I was painting the desert sands, actually. You remember the incident in Paris last year, right? The collapse of the Eiffel Tower?" she asked, and he nodded in response. "Just an hour before, I finished my painting of it. I painted the last complete painting of that tower. It's hanging in my studio right now. But that's all the way in New York City." she sighed.

'Why don't I bring you back after your introductory lessons to get your things. Would you like that?' he asked, and her face lit up.

"You would do that for me? Oh, you're the best! You know, you have to be the second friend I've made here, and you and Scarlet have to be some of the nicest people I've ever met." she smiled at him, and Snake felt a warmth he was not very familiar with. He hadn't felt that good in a long time.

The meal came, and Snake took the lower portion of his mask off, revealing two well formed lips and a strong jaw line. Rose blushed again as the inspiration of art rushed to the forefront of her mind. She would very much like to draw him, she decided. If she could only have him pose for her. But he seemed to be a very private person. Not many people were willing to sit still naked for an artist these days. She shrugged to herself and enjoyed the spaghetti provided.

The two were exhausted from their long day. Rose thought of nothing but the warmth of a nice bed, and Snake thought of taking off his damned suit. It would be nice if it didn't retain so much heat. He went into the bathroom to shower, and Rose stripped off the pants she borrowed, opting to sleep in her panties and the large shirt she borrowed from Snake's closet.

She was on the brink of sleep when Snake Eyes came back into the room. He was wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs, which left nothing to the imagination. His wet blonde hair clung to the sides of his face, his blue eyes half closed in the preparation of sleep. He pulled back the covers on the other side of the bed and laid down, and she sat up.

"Wait, where's the other bedroom?" she asked, and Snake Eyes silently heaved a sigh.

'There is no other bedroom. We have to share the bed.' he explained, and she shrugged.

"If you say so," she laid back down, keeping as far away from his side as possible. He did the same, hoping to retain some dignity.


	5. What The HELL!

The quiet morning, or what Rose assumed was morning, came slowly to her. The first thing she noticed was that her toes were warm. She was cold by nature, so waking with warm toes was not a normal experience. The second thing she noticed was that a man was holding her, asleep and in perfect peace.

She had her arms tucked into the embrace, their legs intertwined. Her head rested on his chest, and Rose listened to the steady beat of his heart. Snake's foot shifted, and suddenly his heart beat sped up exponentially. She looked up and locked her gaze on his. He was awake, and aware, of what they were doing. Embarrassment washed over her when something hard brushed her leg.

"What was that?" she asked, scooting away from him as he shifted towards his side of the bed. He gave her an apologetic look.

'I'm sorry. It's morning, and, well... you know.' he signed to her, and she almost giggled at his earnest embarrassment. At least he was as bashful as she was.

"It's fine," she assured him. His face was flushed from the situation. She combed her fingers through her bed head, frustrated at the tangles that had formed in her sleep. "Let's get to breakfast before we're needed for physical training. I need to get into proper shape, after all."

Snake Eyes noticed for the first time that her shirt, or rather, his shirt that she had borrowed, had ridden up, revealing her pale, smooth skin. She had a very slight pooch, but other than that, she looked to be in perfect condition. He thought she looked very attractive, and knew that her body's structure was not the same as Scarlet's. It was obvious from her wide hips and thighs that she was built for procreation, not battle. These workouts would be difficult, if not damn near impossible for Rose to accomplish. He would be thoroughly surprised if she kept a position of grunt work like he did; She would be best suited for desk work, or at least something that would be easier on her.

Their breakfast was one low on carbohydrates, and high in protein. Snake Eyes noticed Rose was not eating it right away. In fact, she seemed a bit distant.

'You'll want to be eating that before we start. You'll need the energy for today.' he signed to her, and she smiled weakly at him.

"I just feel a bit nervous, I'll be fine. I'm not going to get seriously injured, am I?" she asked hesitantly, afraid of the answer.

'Hopefully not. I mean, _I'm_ going to try my hardest not to hurt you, but I can't speak for everyone. They do go kind of hard on the new recruits.' Snake Eyes signed back, and she turned a shade of green.

"Thanks anyway," she mumbled, turning back to the meal that was quickly cooling.

The morning's activities really had taken a lot out of Rose. Straight after breakfast, they had stopped at what appeared to be an abandoned building in the middle of the site. Rose could tell that this was not purposeless, or Snake Eyes wouldn't have left her here. Scarlet stepped out from behind the building, which was revealed to be a construct made for some type of simulation. She handed Rose a strange looking gun and approached a large computer console, typing in instructions on what should go on in the test.

"Alright then," Scarlet turned to her as she finished typing in the last of the constraints. "You're going to use that gun to shoot all the people you see in that building. Don't worry, they're holograms. There are thirty eight of them, and some are harder to hit. Don't be discouraged if you don't get them all before they shoot you. Which will hurt, by the way."

"Wait, what-" Rose started, but Scarlet pushed a button which started the timer.

"GO!" Scarlet started her off, and watched as Rose's expression flashed from uncertain to severely serious. She flipped the safety off the gun and ran at top speed towards the building. Before Scarlet could see where she was aiming, Rose had fired off four rounds, taking out a few of the hologram snipers she had hidden on the roof.

It was impressive how quickly Rose had assessed the situation and reacted, the way she had taken down several of the harder targets while dodging the easy ones, saving them for last. She was almost methodical in the system she had employed, killing off all of them in less than two minutes. She had beat Scarlet's record on her first try. Stunned silence followed her glorious victory, as everyone halted in their activities to watch her go from what seemed like a trained assassin to a normal person once more.

Rose flipped the safety back on, returned the gun to the rack, and promptly tripped and fell on her face in a wondrous show of clumsiness.

"So how did I do?" she asked after picking herself off the floor.

"How did you do?" Scarlet seemed a bit off kilter. "You beat the record. That... That was amazing... How?"

"Well, what's next?" Rose stretched and walked toward a crowd of people gathered around a fight.

The fight was actually a new recruit training exercise between Snake Eyes and some poor sap, who was trying his best to get a good shot into the battle. But no one but Duke had ever landed a blow in a fight against Snake, and that was made clear when he took down the nervous young man easily. He signaled for the next person, and a cocky, well built young man stood front and center.

"Hey, I know you don't talk much," the man was loud, as if he thought Snake Eyes was deaf. "But can you tell me how fast I am when I kick your ass?"

"Start!" Ripcord initiated the duel, knowing Snake wouldn't offer a rebuttal, but make his point with multiple bruises on the ignorant man.

It was only a matter of how long, and it didn't take long for the jerk to realize he had made a grave mistake. A quick punch to the face broke his nose, and he fell like a sack of bricks.

"Winner: Snake Eyes." Ripcord sighed and helped up the man. "Let's get this guy to the infirmary while the next one gets a shot at it." he handed the man off to another cadet. "How about you, Rosy?"

Rosy? No one had called her Rosy since she kicked the ass of the guy who called her that. "Sure, why not?" she entered the ring, and she was handed finger tape, which she wrapped around her hands comfortably. "Let's start."

She swung her fist wide, and Snake Eyes blocked it, shocked at how fast and strong she was. Just where did she get all this skill, and why wasn't she in the Marines or something already? She quickly recovered and landed a low sweeping kick, catching Snake Eyes off guard. It wasn't often he found himself on his ass, and this wasn't one of those times, as he managed to stay on his feet. He put in a few quick jabs, nothing serious, but she took them like a champ. She clocked him in the visor, cracking it once more.

'Do you know how much one of these costs? Seriously, you need to stop breaking these!' he signed to her.

"Sorry! That time it was an accident!" she yelled back, and resumed fighting with a soft blow to the ribs.

Snake Eyes smirked at her. Rule number one, never take pity on the opponent until the battle is over. He took advantage of her weak blow by giving one much harder to the back of her knee. She sank to one knee, then grabbed hold of his ankle. In one swift pull, she had him on his back, and she punched him in the ribs in the same spot she had earlier. Apparently, the soft blow was to find the floating rib, the harder one was to fracture it. The plan had worked, and she was victorious.

As Snake lay on the floor, Rose stood up, offering a hand. Applause was given as she helped him up, then walked him to the medical bay.

'Where in God's green earth did an artist like you learn to fight like that?' Snake Eyes signed to her.

"Well, my Dad was a NAVY Seal, my Mom was in the FBI, and just about everyone in my family ranks pretty high in the military. I'm actually the black sheep of the family. All this training, and no desire to fight. I guess that either makes me a pacifist, or a wimp, at least in my parent's eyes. Drew was always the better fighter."

'Drew?' the name seemed almost familiar, like the name of someone you would met once a long time ago.

"Yeah. He was my brother. He died in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan. He saved twenty seven women and children from being blown up, though. That's what he was all about." Rose looked on in reverie, thinking of the young man she had not seen in years. "He was about to come back for Christmas..."

Snake thought for a moment. When he first joined the Joes, he had a partner named Drew. He was not following protocol like usual. He had said something about clearing the civilians. The man died with a huge bang. He froze mid-thought. Rose kept dragging him along, and Snake started to panic. He could never tell her. Never.


	6. No such thing as being too chivalrous

They entered the infirmary, and the Medic looked up at them.

"Ah, a bit of a scuffle with Duke, eh, Snake Eyes?" she giggled. Snake shook his head as Rose sat him on the examination table. He gestured towards Rose, and the Medic gaped at him. "All this damage from one girl?" Snake nodded, and Rose giggled.

"He's too chivalrous for his own good," Rose commented, and Snake Eyes feigned offence.

'Who said I was TOO chivalrous? There's no such thing!' Snake signed at her, and Rose giggled again. It was the sound of bells, and Snake felt a fluttering in his chest. He hadn't felt this giddy in a long time. He wondered how old she was. She couldn't have been thirty. His thoughts made his heart sink. She was probably too young for him. Sure, he was good looking, but he was in his mid-thirties! He thought about how he was going to go about staying with her, making her see that he could be there, but stopped himself abruptly. He was going too fast, they had only known each other for a day or so!

After a run-through of his various scrapes and bruises, and a dismissal with a wrap around his ribs, they sat through a quiet dinner. Rose didn't even pay attention to what they were eating. She was thinking intently. Snake was a good man, a reliable man. He was kind, and organized, and chivalrous. The look he gave her when his visor was pulled off in the medical bay was... more valuable to her than she had ever thought possible. It was a tender look of admiration and forgiveness, something she never imagined could be expressed in the same moments. Just what was she getting herself into?

They went to bed silently, both in deep thought, on complete opposite sides of the bed.

Snake Eyes awoke first to find Rose in his arms, still asleep. She snuggled into his chest, and the scent of strawberries wafted into his nose. He inhaled lightly, enjoying the smell. He idly thought about calling in sick via Scarlet and playing hooky with Rose, but they both had things to do. He was supposed to show her the bars and have her show him what she could do in a balancing act; how was she going to get from point A to point B?

"Mmm, I don't want to get up yet," sighed Rose, and she wrapped her arms around his waist.

Snake chuckled silently, but his shaking shoulders woke her up. She looked around groggily, taking in her surroundings. Finding herself in Snake's arms, she gently moved out of the bed without so much as a protest. He found this to be improvement to the reaction of mortification yesterday, but was still weary. If they were caught in that position, they would be in trouble.

After another tasteless breakfast, they walked to the bars. It was like any ordinary gymnastic equipment, only it was about four hundred feet higher. If she fell, she would still be seriously injured, even though there was a landing mat. Snake began to panic silently as she climbed up to the tallest one. She was shaky, and she hadn't bothered to chalk her hands. Her grip was too loose. From the ground, Snake Eyes began counting all of the risks she was taking. He prayed to whoever was listening she wouldn't fall.

They didn't answer in kind.

Rose fell in transition from the tallest bar to the shortest. She had skipped over the medium one, having faith that she had enough momentum. But you never skip a bar when you have the opportunity to take one, and that mistake had cost her. As she fell, she heard the wind whistling in her ears for a few moments. Four hundred feet wasn't that far, and she landed on the mats twisted. She felt something snap in her leg, and she cried out. But her yelp was nothing in comparison to the sound that erupted near her.

"NOOO!" Snake Eyes yelled, surprised at himself; he hadn't spoken a word for over about two decades now. His voice was a deep rumble, like thunder. His feet carried him swiftly to her side, and he assessed the damage. Rose's femur was sticking out of her leg. It wasn't the first time Snake had seen this. Hell, it wasn't the thousandth time he'd seen this. But this time, he panicked and actually used his radio for something other than tracking location.

"Scarlet! It's Snake Eyes; I need a stretcher, _NOW!_" his voice ground over the channel, and was answered quickly.

"Snake? What are you- since when do you _talk?_ You know what, never mind, we're coming!" Scarlet was always good to respond quickly.


	7. Regrets'I'm naked, so please get out'

Rose awoke in the bedroom. A large white cast encased her leg. Snake Eyes was no where to be found. On the night stand was a glass of water, overfull from the melted ice that had once been inside of it. She looked around to the mirror that made up a wall; she looked like hell, with her hair splayed out over the pillows, knotted and matted. Her face was sallow and sweaty, a cold rag across her brow. Her cased leg was elevated with a couple of pillows. She didn't know why, but she burst out laughing.

"That's what I get for overconfidence in this place. Well, at least now I can take a freaking nap in this military tunnel." She laughed to herself.

Steam billowed out from under the bathroom door, and Rose felt the need to thank her savior. She spied a pair of crutches next to the bed, just within her reach. She carefully made her way to the bathroom, surprised that the door wasn't locked. She opened the door to find Snake Eyes in the shower, the steam hiding his body's details from her. She saw his head whip around to where she was, and he wrote on the glass door with his finger, creating a message.

'Get out. NOW.'

"I just wanted to thank you. Did you...did you speak when I fell?"

'Don't remind me. You made me break my vow. I feel bad enough about it as it is.' the words started to take up more of the glass door, and Rose couldn't help but ogle.

"Well, can't you renew it? It was an emergency, I'm sure that it shouldn't count, but just in case...?" Rose watched him cover the top words that had began to disappear with new ones.

'I already have. But I'm still mad about it. And I'm naked. So please, get out.'

"Fair enough. See you...when you're not naked?" she giggled at his politeness. Even in the nude, he had to say 'please'.

Rose left the bathroom, and Snake heaved out a silent sigh. He was giving up too much for her. He needed to separate himself from her. But he didn't want to. What was wrong with him? At this point, he should boot her out and ask for her to bunk with someone else! He looked around the shower stall at her frilly soaps. He had delivered these only a couple of days ago, and already he was attached to her at the hip. He decided to take her back home to get her things while she was incapable of duty, and then meditate. For a LONG time. Just to get himself together. He could do that...right? Maybe Scarlet could babysit Rose for a while and let him have some peace... He sighed once more, and shut off the water. Hopefully, his master would have understood why he had broken his vow. Hopefully, he was forgiven. It wouldn't happen again. He was determined that it wouldn't.


	8. Confrontations and snuggles

Three days passed before just about everyone Rose ever said 'hi' to in the day had signed her cast and left her flowers. The scents of the conflicting plants left a pungent smell in the air, and Rose had to separate them out before Snake would say something about it. He had been nothing but kind to her, but it was a different kind of nice. It was colder, more removed. He had insisted that he slept somewhere else while she was healing. Rose felt cold and alone at night. But she kept telling herself it was because he was mad at her.

In all honesty, Snake Eyes was still mad at her. But he had forgiven her, he just needed time to himself. Scarlet had explained why he had the vow, and the profound intensity their friendship must be to cause him to break it. Rose felt terrible about it, but there really wasn't anything she could do about it.

On day number four of her rest and recovery, Snake actually had a real conversation with her.

'Let's go get your belongings from New York. Just you and me.' Snake signed her.

Rose sat up in the bed, her shirt wrinkled from her sulking in the bed for hours. She had been upset about needing help to shower to keep the cast dry. It had been an embarrassing morning for her and Scarlet.

"Are you joking?" Rose threw her arms up. "How would we get there?"

'It's called a plane. I happen to have one ready to carry your possessions here, once you pick out the ones you want or need.'

"Like clothes and my art." Rose nodded. "I don't think I'll need a couch, or my coffee table. I like yours better anyway."

Snake Eyes just gave her a silent nod, and attempted to help her out of the bed. She swatted him away.

"I can get out of this bed myself, thank you very much!" Rose giggled, the sound of bells. "What brought on this sudden excursion, anyway?"

Snake thought upon his evening meditation, or more specifically, its interruption. It had been peaceful in the dark of his visor. He had complete silence in the room, but he sensed a human presence.

"You need to show her." Scarlet sat down beside him. Snake turned his head and stared at her, his head slightly tilted. They had known each other long enough to know what the other was thinking, much like a twin.

"Show her that you forgive her. After all, you do have a growing affection for her. I can see it the way you hold yourself around her. You stand a bit straighter, walk a bit more gracefully, and when you're in the ring with someone while she's around, you show off."

'I do not!' Snake shook his head, vehemently denying what even he knew to be true.

"I don't care if you agree or not," Scarlet stared into his visor, meeting his eyes. She was always good at making him feel obligated to do something when she did that. "But you are going to make up for your distance from her. You're going to take her to New York, help her pack her stuff, and go sightseeing with her. Because not only do you like her a lot, but I said you're going to do it. Do I make myself clear?"

'Yes, mother,' he joked, but he knew that this was serious. She and Rose must have had a talk for Scarlet to be so angry with him. And he knew he needed to get his ass in gear and make a move already. After all, Ripcord had said that women are creatures that need attention, not just taking care of their physical needs, but their emotional needs as well. Rose needed someone to talk to, someone to care for her. And he did care! But he wasn't sure if it was a care like he and Scarlet had, or if it was more of a... romantic endeavor. Whichever it was, he would find out in New York.

Snake looked at Rose in the present. Her hair was slightly mussed, probably from looking around the room with her head still on the pillow. A smile threatened to pull at her lips, her white teeth with a chip in the right incisor showing.

'No reason. I just thought you would need something from home to give you comfort, and with your broken leg, you're going to need help carrying boxes.' he signed and gave a half-shrug.

"Thank you so much!" Rose beamed, and Snake knew he had done right to see that smile.

That night, Snake stayed in the bed, and snuggled up close to her. He would definitely find out what kind of love they shared.


	9. Stupid Airport, stupid airplane!

Snake Eyes found that he didn't like the city, either. It was too loud. There were too many people doing stupid things, and expecting him to apologize for it. They were rude to Rose, and he knew that he was going to wind up hurting someone before the trip was over.

"My apartment is two blocks from here." Rose reported. She'd kept him up to date in their location every five minutes. He appreciated the sentiment, but it was unnecessary. He knew exactly where they were. He had to memorize a map of the city before he left. Snake Eyes, like every other man in history, didn't like asking for directions.

The crowd pushed them together, too close for comfort. And they never seemed to stop. Ever.

The apartment building was nice, though. The doorman held glass doors with brass bars open for them, and a bellhop worked the elevator for them. Floor seven. The elevator was also glass, with brass accents. The carpet was a plush wine red. Everything seemed to expensive to touch, as if they would get dirty for breathing upon them.

The glass doors slid open, and they stepped out onto yet another beautiful hallway. Door 7B. The inside was just as luxurious.

Snake Eyes had to wonder just where she got all this money. It was at least a $1,500,000 apartment, with thousands of dollars worth of furniture. Her artwork was all over the walls, scenes from Paris, France, Regensburg, Germany, Madrid, Spain, Dublin, Ireland. So many places, and so many paintings.

"I make good money making weapons designs for the government. That's probably the only reason the Joes thought I would be of any use." Rose sat down on a leather couch, and patted the seat next to her. "Come sit with me? I'm lonely."

He did as she asked, and leaned into her. He was also lonely.

"So, what do you want for dinner? I could get us something delivered." Rose looked to his slightly curled form and smiled, her chipped tooth in full show.

'Something simple. Whatever you think is the best around here. Something that tastes good for once!' Snake Eyes signed, and Rose laughed.

"Italian it is."

After dinner, Snake Eyes surveyed the apartment. Most of her belongings were unlike her personality; they were stiff, uncomfortable, and high maintenance. The only things that looked like they really belonged to Rose were a paintbrush set, her pillow, her paintings, her clothes, and her toiletries. The rest were disposable things, things she herself wanted to give to her father, who was willing to take the apartment, after a phone call was made to him.

They snuggled in the bed together, and Snake Eyes had never felt so unwelcome and in the right place at the same time before.


End file.
